Clipper Gap Fire Treated As Potential Crime Scene

July 11, 2017 at 11:26 pm

PLACER COUNTY (CBS13) – Firefighters are still mopping up a fire on Clipper Creek Road. Calfire and the Placer County Sheriff’s Department are trying to figure out how it the fire started and are treating it as a possible crime scene.

“It’s nerve-wracking,” said Abbey Crews, who lives near Clipper Gap Road. “I have animals up there so I want to get up there and get them out if I can.”

The Clipper Gap Fire started around 2 p.m. and burned two and a half acres on Tuesday afternoon. Clipper Gap Road was closed off for roughly three hours as firefighters battled flames in a remote area nearby.

“Obviously we have to take it very seriously from the get-go,” said Lt. Troy Sander.

Sander says the fire started in a gorge on Clipper Creek Road. Fire retardant left a trail leading straight to a smoldering structure with live power lines on the ground.

Judy Crum works as a caregiver for an elderly couple just off Clipper Gap Road.

“It was a little concerning,” she said. “They were trying to figure out what they need to gather in case they need to go.”

When deputies told her she couldn’t drive to the house, Crum decided to try to make it on foot.

“I started walking,” she told CBS13. “I had a little bit of water, and a little bit of battery on my phone and thankfully an officer took me the rest of the way.”

In fire-prone areas, Sander says crews have to be ready to access remote areas before flames get out of hand.

“It’s important when these events happen, that we respond quickly to that first initial attack and do whatever you can to keep residents safe,” Sander said.

Residents are back in their homes after firefighters largely contained the fire Tuesday evening.

No one was injured in this fire, and Calfire says the damage appears to be contained to just one property.